Gulf Nations Accelerate Space Ambitions as UAE Unveils Asteroid Mission Probe

The United Arab Emirates has unveiled a space probe manufactured in Abu Dhabi for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, scheduled to launch in March 2028, ThePrint reported. Led by the UAE Space Agency with development by the Technology Innovation Institute and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, the mission will launch the MBR Explorer spacecraft on a five-billion-kilometre journey toward the main asteroid belt.

The spacecraft will perform gravity-assist flybys of Venus, Earth, and Mars, conducting observations of six asteroids before deploying a probe to approach asteroid 269 Justitia. If successful, the mission would make the UAE the fourth entity to land on an asteroid, following the United States, Japan, and a joint French-German mission. The probe is scheduled to lift off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rocket.

The project reflects a broader push across West Asia, where entities such as the Saudi Space Agency and Oman's National Centre for Space, Advanced Technology and AI are developing domestic satellite, exploration, and ground capabilities to diversify oil-dependent economies. To address a regional shortage of sovereign launch facilities, Oman is constructing the Eltaq commercial spaceport by late 2027 to serve as a launchpad and space logistics hub for regional programmes.

Regional space initiatives also serve as an avenue to manage geopolitical ties, according to analysts cited by the source. While the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain have signed the US-led Artemis Accords, other regional players have engaged with initiatives such as the China- and Russia-led International Lunar Research Station.